Duterte Gov’t To Utilize C-130 Cargo Planes To Airlift Agricultural, Fish Products From Provinces To Big Cities
Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol announced the forging of
an agreement with the Department of National Defense (DND) for the latter to
airlift the abundant catch of poor fishermen from the country’s rich fishing
grounds to the hungry markets of Cebu, Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon using
the C-130 Cargo Transport Aircraft of the Philippine Air Force.
This is after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana agreed to a
proposal by Sec. Piñol for the two departments to collaborate in implementing
the Philippine Food Skyway – a strategy to connect the farmers and fishermen in
the distant islands of the country to the big markets using the Air Force Cargo
Transport Planes.
With the launching of the Philippine Food Skyway Project,
the fish catch of fishermen from Samar, Surigao, Davao, Sultan Kudarat,
Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, Tawitawi, Palawan and Mindoro could now be brought
directly to the markets of Cebu, Metro Manila and Baguio City.
The program is not only expected to ensure the availability
of affordable fish in the market but also to encourage fishermen to catch more
as there would already be a system to bring their catch to the market.
Fish caught through dynamite fishing or other illegal methods
will not be accepted in the program.
“On March 6, shortly before a Cabinet Meeting which
President Rody Duterte will preside in Malacañang, Sec. Lorenzana and I will
sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to officially start this unique food delivery
project,” Sec. Piñol said.
In the proposed MOA, the Department of Agriculture and
Fisheries will cover the fuel and maintenance expenses for the C-130 cargo
planes which will be used in the project.
The Philippine Air Force has three C-130 cargo planes, each
capable of carrying about 20 tons of cargo.
“The launching of the Philippine Food Skyway, a project
which I have long dreamed of and envisioned as early as when I was still
Governor of North Cotabato, will be launched next week in time with the lifting
of the three-month fishing ban in the Zamboanga Peninsula,” he said.
The Agriculture Chief shared that during the peak fishing
season, fishermen in Zamboanga complain that they could not sell their catch, mostly
composed of Tamban, which is sold for as low as P10 per kilo.
“When I was in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte last week,
fishermen complained that their fish catch would just rot as they could not
sell it to consumers in the big market because they lack access and they did
not also have enough ice to preserve the catch,” he added.
Furthermore, the Philippine Food Skyway Project will also
include the airlifting of fruits and other perishable commodities from the
far-flung areas of the country to the big markets.
Sec. Piñol said that an Air Force C-130 cargo plane will
load about 15 tons of fresh fish to be place in Styrofoam boxes in Zamboanga
City and bring these to the Loakan Airport in Baguio City where it will be sold
to the consumers of the Cordillera in the Farmers Trading Center in La
Trinidad, Benguet.
The C-130 cargo plane which will unload the boxes of fish
from Zamboanga will then be loaded with vegetables and other agricultural
products from Baguio City and the Cordillera Provinces which could be delivered
to Iloilo City, Cebu City, Zamboanga City and even as far as Tawi-tawi.
“The Philippine Food Skyway Project is a concept in food
supply repositioning which I designed over 10 years ago because of a problem
which faced North Cotabato’s fruit farmers who could not sell their produce in
the big markets,” he recalled.
“That was when I initiated the construction of an airport in
M’lang, North Cotabato which has already been completed and which hopefully
will be used in the Philippine Food Skyway Project.”
To support fishermen in the various fishing grounds of the
country, Sec. Piñol said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)
will continue its fiberglass fishing boats distribution program to poor fisher
folks.
The DAF and the DND will also invite President Duterte to
officially launch the Philippine Food Skyway Program by opening the “Fish
Festival” in the DAF-owned Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center (BAPTC) which is
equipped with cold storage.
Duterte Gov’t To Utilize C-130 Cargo Planes To Airlift Agricultural, Fish Products From Provinces To Big Cities
Reviewed by Yen
on
March 14, 2017
Rating:
Nice project! Go! Go! Go!
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